QMedCONNECT August 2018: Read an interesting article about our lack of research culture. Learn about Evernote

QMedCONNECT Newsletter: August 2018

Dear friends

August was a "different" month in many ways!

For the second time, I was given 2.5 hours to deliver a lecture on literature searching, and also do a group activity, at the Research Methodology workshop at Grant Medical College. The group activity, both times - having almost 1.5 hours of time, turned out to be a great learning session for all of the 50 PG students. The principles explained clearly, gave them a chance to plan their search strategies well. And then just finding Mesh terms, using their smart phones, was an activity that made them learn a lot. I do hope all institutions give this time slot for literature searching. It can make a BIG difference!

We conducted a Peer Learning Session for other NGOs that are on the GlobalGiving fund raising platform, on the 29th of August. The session was on the reward points that one could get while learning on the GG platform (now isn't that a double whammy?) and how more rewards leads to more fund raising, if an organization works diligently towards it. I learned about this from a person from another NGO earlier, and helped to spread this knowledge to ten NGO partners in Mumbai. The event was great, and as expected, we too learned a number of new things from other NGO partners.

Then, can you believe that a single Whatsapp "Forward" can trigger an event (which is also a part of a lecture series)? Well, it happened. I received a very funny video on libraries, through a Whatsapp message. I forwarded it to librarian friends and in a few minutes we were planning out a session on librarians sharing anecdotes from our professional lives. This event happened on the 31st of August at the SNDT University - the program was coordinated with the "BKC Knowledge Network" which is a network of librarians. An interesting afternoon, where I was invited to share anecdotes and then many other librarians did too. While some were hilarious and made us all laugh, there were others that ranged from "touching the heart" to great learning experiences. As I said - a very different experience!

For our Mastering PubMed course, we now have 30 enrollments (and a few more internal ones). Out of these, 16 have successfully completed the course! We have finalized Institutional subscription options and will be reaching out to institutions. Do connect with us if you would like to recommend our course to any institution!

Vasumathi Sriganesh

Did You Know

EVERNOTE

Evernote is a tool that acts as a digital notepad for you on the go. In today's world, most of you are more comfortable carrying your cellular devices, laptops and other electronics with you wherever you go.

Evernote is an app for your smartphone, tab and your laptop/desktop. As the name suggests, it is an application that acts as a platform for you to take notes, and in the process, basically becomes the pocket notebook of the digital age. It syncs easily and automatically across all your devices and across all operating systems. You will never have the risk of losing scraps of information, since this is not a form of a post-it note or a piece of paper that you may easily misplace. Via Evernote, you will also be able to remove the pile of paper reminders you would have to go through on your desk and move into a single digital storehouse of information.

To read more about Evernote, visit our blog post here!

Interesting Article

Dr. Ashok Shyam. Why do we lack a Research Culture? Analysing the Indian Medical Landscape. PMC ID: PMC5727989

Good medical practices require a practitioner/ student to be aware of current developments in the field. Research is an irreplaceable constituent of growth in medicine since there are new developments that require study and analysis everyday. However, there are a number of factors which undermine the existence of a good research culture in our country. In this editorial piece, Dr. Ashok Shyam emphasizes upon some of these.

You will know about the existing dependence that most medical students have upon textbooks for carrying out research and studies. While textbooks are reliable, they are often not current sources from where one can form evidence based knowledge/ practices. Dr. Shyam touches upon this existing problem, particularly when research articles fail to get accepted because of outdated references. Upon reading this article, you will understand the differences between books and journals, and why it is essential for you, as a care giver or health sciences student, to study the latter as extensively as you can. Often, the books you rely on may-be formatted to give you summarized information that will help you clear your exams. But these are not adequate for forming knowledge or asking important questions.

Read more on our blog post here. You can find the article here.

More Interesting Articles on our blog

From QMed’s Calendar

Regular workshops at institutions:

• GMC Patiala (full day workshop) - 5th August - 30 participants

Lectures

• Nair Dental- Research Methodology Workshop Lecture - 2nd August

• Grant Medical College- Research Methodology Workshop Lecture- 28th August

Around 50 participants attended each of the lectures.

Group Activity at the GMC workshop

The Librarians' Anecdotes

QMed Participates

• Mrs. Vasumathi Sriganesh was invited to host a Global Giving Peer Learning Network session on September 29th. The event took place in QTube, Bandra. It was an enlightening session where different organizations came together to share their tips and tricks on improving their standing in Global Giving. There was a lot of mutual learning involved, and discussions on how to reach out and thank our donors on a more personal level. The event ended with a session on CSR and an exercise involving the participants.

• Mrs. Sriganesh attended a half day library workshop on “The Big Blue Book: Librarian’s Anecdotes ” on Friday, August 31, 2018. The workshop was organized by BKC Knowledge Network & SHPT School of Library Science, Mumbai. The theme of the event was about sharing stories one may have faced as a librarian- be it funny questions or requests or witty responses to such questions asked. It was a light, humorous event that drove home the necessity of enjoying one's job.